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The charismatic and controversial former India captain made his international debut on the final day of 1984 in a test series against England at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
During his career, he has scored over 15000 international runs across 29 centuries in all formats. His flamboyant use of his wrists, traditional off-drive was a treat to watch, and Eden spectators got a taste of his class when he first arrived.
On this day in 1985, Azharuddin scored his 100th debut against England. This was his third Test of the series in Kolkata and the series was tied 1–1 for him.
Azhar has joined instead.
A young Azharuddin made his debut to replace the dropped Sandip Patil. India won the toss and captain Sunil Gavaskar decided to bat first. Both Gavaskar and another of his starters, Anshuman Gaikwad, fell early as India were 35 to 2 for him.
Azharuddin came up with the debut brilliance:
Mohammed Azharuddin came to the crease after Mohinder Amarnath’s fall as India were 126-to-3. His Dilip Vengsarkar on set departed soon after, and young Azhar stitched up India’s innings with his Ravi Shashtri.
The match was marred by rain, and Al-Azhar presented his class on the third day (the match was called off on January 1, 1985). When Eden’s audience embraced the new hero, he played some elegant drives with flicks and wrist-like hits on the side of the leg.
Azhar went on to dominate English bowlers such as Norman Cowans and Phil Edmonds to reach his debut hundred. He scored 110 runs in his debut innings and was dismissed for bowling by Cowans as David Gower caught him in the gully. Azhar took his 322 balls and scored 110 runs. Ravi Shashtri also scored 100 as the match ended in a draw.
Azharuddin stats for that series:
India lost the fourth Test, losing the series 2-1, but found a talent in Mohammad Azharuddin. The Hyderabad batsman scored 439 runs at an average of 109 in that series, and scored another 200. He was the best run scorer among Indian batsmen despite playing only 3 out of 5 games.
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